Categorized under: Flying Dog, Oskar Blues

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey update

Beer and whiskey mix

Here’s a story with a happy ending.

Back in December we reported that Flying Dog’s decision to shutter its Denver brewery – and relocate its beer-making operations to Maryland – had put Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey in a jam. The tiny Denver maker of super-premium whiskey had been relying on neighboring Flying Dog for its “distiller’s wash,” a custom-made, fermented liquid that’s based on a proprietary recipe made just for Stranahan’s. Stranahan’s owner Jess Graber was forced to find a new source for the wash.

As luck would have it, he’s rounded up a new partner in the form of Oskar Blues Brewery, the Lyons craft beer maker known for its Dale’s Pale Ale packaged in cans.

“When I heard that Flying Dog was leaving, I immediately called (Stranahan’s) and offered our service,” says Oskar Blues spokesman Marty Jones, noting that he’s a “big fan” of the whiskey.

Jones calls Graber “a pioneer.”

“He’s doing for whiskey what craft brewers have done for beer,” Jones says. “He and his little team have defied the status quo and the Goliaths of the distilling world and shown that spine-tingling whis key can be made by daring individuals right in one’s own community.” 

Oskar Blues will soon begin trucking more than 5,000 barrels of wash a year to Stranahan’s from the beer maker’s new Longmont brewery. The deliveries will be made weekly. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Graber, for his part, is one happy whiskey maker.

“They’re a really good company and they make a really good beer,” he says of Oskar Blues. “We want to maintain our quality, and we don’t think we could have done any better than hook up with these guys.”

Link to article.

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